Process and device for producing sausage skins and sausage skin produced thereby

ABSTRACT

A process and a device for producing sausage casings which bear a coating of spice particles on the inside are distinguished in that the inside of the sausage casing is provided with an adhesive coating which hardens from the liquid state and the spice particles are projected against the adhesive coating while it remains adhesive. The production of the spice particle coating can be interrupted in sections, that is to say in the sections predetermined for tying off individual sausage casings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is the national stage of International application No.PCT/EP95/05170 filed Dec. 29, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide sausage with a spice coating on the outside, forexample pepper salami. For this purpose, the sausage is freed from thecasing and, after coating with an adhesive liquid, is covered with theground spice in an airstream (DE-A 31 35 493). Since this process islaborious, it has also been proposed to provide the sausage casing onthe inside with an edible coating which contains the spices (DE-A 41 23745, EP-B 408 164, DD-A-140 196, Chemical Abstracts JP 49075746, JP3010660 Abstract, JP 52070039 Abstract). However, in this process thespice becomes part of a relatively thick binder layer containing thespice, which binder layer remains on the sausage after the casing hasbeen removed. This impairs the appearance of the sausage in comparisonwith conventional products, for example pepper salami. It is alsoundesirable if the spicecontaining coating including spices is removedfrom the sausage together with the sausage casing. The production of theknown spice-containing sausage casings is also relatively laborious.

EP-B-408 164 discloses providing the sausage casing on the inside withspice particles, by providing the inside with an adhesive layer anddusting the spice particles onto this adhesive layer. Only the treatmentof planar casing material is disclosed, tubular material must be cutopen in advance.

It is a further disadvantage that the casing material, when the sausageends are tied off by means of a cord or wire clip, is subjected to greatstress, which can lead to tearing of the same if a sharp spice fragmentis situated on the inside at the tying-off point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object underlying the invention is to provide a device of the typementioned which permits tubular sausage casings with an inner spicecoating to be produced.

The device according to the invention provides that the spice particlesare projected against an adhesive coating which has been applied to theinside of the sausage casing. The spice particles remain on, or partlyin, the adhesive coating and are permanently joined by this means to thesausage casing, as soon as the adhesive layer has dried. The sausagecasings produced in this manner can be processed conventionally.

The device according to the invention has the advantage that it succeedswith only slight modification of known sausage casing manufacturingdevices, for devices are known which are used to provide endless fabrictubings with a collagen coating on the inside which converts the fabricinto a sealing skin. The internal collagen application can, while it isstill sufficiently adhesive, be used to bind the spice particles to thesausage casing. For this purpose, downstream of the coating apparatus,there is provided an apparatus which projects the particles against theinside of the inflated sausage casing. This is performed, for example,by means of a thrower disc or a blast nozzle. The fabric tubing materialcan be run over the coating apparatus and thrower apparatus in aconventional manner. The adhesive coating is then allowed to harden.Generally this means that it is allowed to dry. However, it is notintended to exclude the fact that it can be hardened by other processes,for example chemical processes.

Expediently, the radial velocity for applying the spice particles to thesausage casing is imparted to the particles by a blast nozzle or throwerdisc, by means of which a readily controllable application of the spiceparticles may be achieved.

According to the invention, the particle coating may be interrupted inthe sections destined for tying off individual sausage casings. Thisprevents an excessive stressing of the casing material, which can leadto tearing of the same if a sharp spice fragment is situated on theinside at the tying-off point. In the process according to theinvention, in the sections predetermined for tying off individualsausage casings, the particle feed is interrupted in sections during thecovering of the inside of the sausage casings. Alternatively, it can beprovided that the particles applied to the casing on the inside in theindicated sections are then removed again, if they have a size whichwould endanger the integrity of the sausage casing at the tying-offpoint; for example, large spice grains can be blown or brushed off. Itcan also be provided that the particle feed is interrupted in sectionsand, in addition, an operation follows which removes any spice particleswhich happen to remain adhering in these areas. The spice-free sectionscan also be produced by means of the fact that application of theadhesive is suspended in sections, so that the particles cannot remainbehind. This measure can also be combined with the interruption of theparticle feed and/or the subsequent removal of any particles which havenevertheless remained adhering.

The process is expediently carried out in such a manner that all or aconsiderable proportion (more than 30% by weight) of the particles arenot incorporated entirely into the adhesive coating, but they each sinkinto it only to a small proportion (less than half their diameter) andare bound, so that they remain for the most part adhering on or in thesausage surface when the casing is removed from the ripened sausage.This is particularly important in those cases in which the adhesivecoating is not intended to become a consumable part of the sausage.However, this shall not exclude the case that, as adhesive coating, useis made of substances (in particular edible proteins such as alginate)which may remain in whole or in part on the sausage when the sausagecasing is removed.

Of course, to establish the sections in which the particle coating isinterrupted, the length of the sausage casings must be established inadvance. With modern control means, this may be achieved readily and ina variable manner.

Expediently, in the region in which the particles are applied, or in aregion through which the sausage casing which is provided with theparticles is then moved, a vigorous air movement is maintained, whichdetaches again those particles which were not sufficiently firmly bound.This decreases the risk that inadequately bound particles becomedetached later when it is undesired. In this context, pneumaticapplication of the particles is particularly expedient.

Although the vigorous air movement is accompanied by the fact that veryfine-grained material becomes attached even in those sections in whichno particles are actually intended to remain adhering, this is harmless,because it does not lead to the harmful stressing of the casing materialmentioned on tying off.

It must be expected that some of the particles projected against theinside of the casing are not bound, but fall off. In order that they donot remain loose in the sausage casing, it is expedient to remove thetreated sausage casing from the coating device from the top or from thebottom, an apparatus being provided to collect loose particles.

A semi-endless sausage casing which is produced according to theinvention and which is formed from tubular fabric continuously, i.e.generally seamlessly, is distinguished according to the invention inthat it bears a coating of spice particles on the inside, which coatingis interrupted in sections, namely in those sections which arepredetermined for tying off individual sausage casings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below in more detail with reference to thedrawing which illustrates advantageous working examples. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a first embodiment and

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Unless otherwise specified, the parts of the device shown are bodies ofrevolution.

According to FIG. 1, the base 1 of the device is fixed by means ofbolts, which are not shown and which are run through bolt holes 2, to aholder which is not shown, in such a manner that its longitudinal axisis vertical. To the base are fixed three concentric tubes 4, 5 and 6,whose intermediate spaces and interiors 7, 8, 9 are sealed off from oneanother. The tubes 4, 5 bear at their top end a coating ring 10 whoselarger outer circumference 11 is not significantly less than that of thesausage casing 12 to be treated and which has a plurality of outletorifices 13 which are distributed around the circumference a littlebelow and are connected to the intermediate space 7 between the tubes 4and 5. This intermediate space 7 is connected in the base to a feed tube14 which serves to feed a suitable adhesive.

The inner tube 6 is attached via its bottom open port 15 to a pneumaticconveying line for spice powder. Within the coating ring 10, the innertube is centred by means of pins 16 distributed around the circumferenceand, at the end, it bears a deflector or nozzle formed by the ring parts17, 18, by means of which deflector or nozzle the conveying streamcontaining the spice particles is deflected outwards on all sides. Thecoating ring 10 situated below the nozzle 17, 18 forms on the inside areceiving funnel 19 for descending particles, which funnel opens intothe intermediate space 8 between the tubes 5 and 6, which is attached atthe bottom to a suction port 20. Centrally above this device arrangedwith vertical axis is situated a take-off device which is known per se,by means of which a sausage casing 21 being treated, which is tightlysealed at its top end 22, is taken off at the top with an elastic force.

This device is used in the following manner. Below the coating ring 10is mounted a sausage casing store 23 of, for example, textile sausagecasing material. Its upper end is closed above the coating ring andnozzle 17, 18 at 22 and attached to the take-off apparatus. Through thetube 15 is fed compressed air which inflates the part of the sausagecasing 12 situated above the coating ring 10. The adhesive, which is inliquid to pasty state, is fed to the inside of the sausage casingthrough the connection port 14, the intermediate space 7 between thetubes and the exit orifices 13, which adhesive is distributed by thecoating ring 10 onto the inside of the sausage casing 12 and is in thedesired thickness. Advancing with the coating process, the sausagecasing is taken off at the top by means of the take-off apparatus, withit remaining inflated, in order, finally, to be dried in the inflatedstate, also.

Up to this point, device and process are to be considered as known.

The airstream fed through the tube 15 is simultaneously a conveyingmedium for the spice to be applied to the inside of the sausage casing12, which spice is present in solid form, pulverulent or fine-grained,and can therefore be pneumatically conveyed by the air current. Thedeflector head 18 projects it radially outwards against the inside ofthe sausage casing, where it is for the most part caught and retained bythe adhesive coating. In the subsequent drying process, the adhesion isconsolidated. The excess of the air and particle stream is received bythe funnel 19 and conducted away by the intermediate space 8 between thetubes and the port 20.

In the design according to FIG. 2, a coating ring 30 is arrangedsuspended on a tube 31 which is surrounded by a tube 33, forming anintermediate space 32. The intermediate space 32 which is closed at thetop and open to the coating ring 30 at the bottom at 34 is connected viaa port 35 to a source of flowable coating medium. At 36, this fills theintermediate space between the sausage casing 37 and the coating ring 30and the tubes 31, 33. The coating medium also in part penetrates thesausage casing material 37 to be coated and, at 38, fills theintermediate space between the sausage casing material 37 and the insideof an outer coating ring 39. The inner coating ring 30 and the outercoating ring 39 face each other at 40 with their largest and smallestdiameters, respectively, in order to wipe off the coating material inthe predetermined layer thickness from the inside and outsiderespectively of the sausage casing material 37. A tube 41 is arrangedconcentrically within the tube 31, which tube 41, at the top end, isattached to a tube 42 which is connected to a compressed-air source. Thetube 41 opens within or below the inner coating ring 30 and by thismeans communicates the superatmospheric pressure to the interior of thecoated sausage casing. The device is arranged with a vertical axis andthe coated sausage casing is continuously taken off from it at thebottom during operation. For this purpose, a take-off apparatus which isnot shown is provided, which engages the closed bottom end of thesausage casing 53, in accordance with the take-off apparatus explainedwith reference to FIG. 1. Since the coated sausage coating 53 is closedat the bottom end, it is inflated below the coating apparatus by theairstream exiting from the tube 41 and can be dried in this state.

Between the tubes 31 and 41 there is an intermediate space 43, which iscontinued in the region of the inner coating ring 30 by an annular space44 open at the bottom. The intermediate space 43 is connected at the topto the previously mentioned compressed-air line 42. In addition itdeparts from the lower end of a funnel 45, to which the pulverulent orfine-grained spice is fed from a spice-feeding apparatus 46, which cancomprise a metering feeder 48 and a storage vessel 47. Together with theairstream originating from the compressed-air tube 42, this spice passesinto the intermediate space 43 between the tubes and exits at the bottomfrom the annular space 44. There it impacts on a thrower disc 49 havinga multiplicity of radial outlet bore holes. The disc is driven by amotor 50, which is enclosed by the annular space 44 and attached to thetube 41 and is fed via leads 51. It is expediently a variable-speeddirect current motor. It is cooled by the airstream exiting from thetube 41. The thrower disc expediently has a diameter from 1/2 to 3/4 ofthe diameter of the sausage casing, in particular 3-6 cm, and is drivenat a speed of 6000 to 20,000 rpm, in particular 12,000 to 16,000 rpm.

The coating apparatus can be provided with means, which are not shown,which facilitate the flow of coating medium, the sliding of the sausagecasing and/or the wetting of the sausage casing by the coating medium,for example a heater, which improves the temperature and flowability ofthe coating medium, or a vibration apparatus.

The device is used in the following manner. The sausage casing material37 is continuously taken off downwards from a store 52 with simultaneousfeed of coating composition, and is coated. At the same time, the spiceis projected by the thrower disc 49 onto the inside of coated sausagecasing 53 and to a large extent remains on this. Loose excess spice canbe taken off from the bottom end of the coated sausage casing.

In both working examples, the spice feed and/or adhesive feed canreadily be interrupted in sections, in order to form those sausagecasing sections which are to remain free of spice.

Example:

A tubular sausage casing of cotton fabric in linen weave having a weightof 129 g/m² was coated, as described above, using the device accordingto FIG. 1 with a binder, which was composed of 3.5% alginate, 4%glycerol and the remainder water. The dry weight of this coating was 80g/m². The fresh wet coating was about 1600 g/m² and was covered with 380g/m² of spice, namely coarsely crushed pepper. The dry weight of theproduct was 589 g/m² in the regions coated with spice.

Depending on the type, seasoning power and fineness of grinding of thespice, its application rate can be between a few g/m² and about 1000g/m². The optimum coating rate can readily be determined byexperiment--starting from the said example--for other spice quantitiesor binder compositions.

We claim:
 1. Device for producing sausage casings which bear a coatingof spice particles on the inside comprising means for inflating asausage casing and internally coating the inflated casing with anadhesive which hardens from the liquid state and a particle dispenserfor projecting spice particles against the inside of the sausage casing,said dispenser being positioned downstream of said coating means forapplying the spice particles to the internally coated and inflatedsausage casing.
 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe dispenser for projecting the particles comprises a thrower disc(49).
 3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that thedispenser for projecting the particles comprises a blast nozzle (17,18).
 4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the dispenserfor projecting the particles can be shut off periodically.
 5. Processfor producing sausage casings which bear a coating of spice particles onthe inside, comprising the steps of inflating a tubular casing, coatingthe inside of the casing with an adhesive coating which hardens from theliquid state and projecting spice particles against the adhesivelycoated inside of the inflated tubular casing, the particle feed or theadhesive coating operation being interrupted in sections of the casingpredetermined for tying off individual lengths of casing.
 6. Processaccording to claim 5, characterized in that a substantial proportion ofthe particles are incorporated into the adhesive coating by the lesserpart of their thickness.
 7. Process according to claim 5, characterizedin that a substantial proportion of the particles are incorporated intothe adhesive coating by parts of their thickness so low that they remainadhering on or in the sausage surface when the casing is removed fromthe ripened sausage.
 8. Process according to claims 5, characterized inthat the adhesive coating is formed from a substance participating inthe formation of the sausage casing.